Earth Lore
| rarity = Common | type = Instant Spell | casting_cost = | research_cost = | effects = * Permanently reveals all geographical features in a 10x12 rectangular area of the selected Plane. }} Earth Lore is a Common Instant Spell belonging to the realm. Cast on the overland map for , it will fully reveal the geography in a rectangular area 14 tiles wide and 12 tiles in height. This corresponds with the size of the map screen view, 12x10, plus one tile beyond it in each direction. The revealed terrain remains visible permanently. Enemy units are not revealed with Earth Lore. Effects Earth Lore explores the geography of the worlds of Arcanus and/or Myrror. It reveals Terrain, Terrain Specials and Towns, but not enemy units. Reveal Terrain When Earth Lore is cast, it will reveal a 14x12 tile rectangle centered exactly on the part of the world currently seen in the main overland view window. Within this rectangle, all Terrain and Terrain Specials are revealed. They will remain permanently visible for the remainder of the game - even after the spell has run its course. Rival Towns within the rectangle are also revealed. They also remain permanently visible, and will visibly grow, diminish or disappear as events occur in those towns. Enemy Towns revealed by Earth Lore can be inspected to show all their normal statistics (population, buildings and enchantments), but not the number and type of units guarding those towns (if any). Rival units are not revealed by Earth Lore. Usage Earth Lore may only be cast on the overland map. Its base Casting Cost is . Earth Lore must be targeted to determine the revealed area. This is done by scrolling the overland map view to the area you wish revealed, and then clicking the left mouse button. After a short animation, every unexplored tile in the area currently seen in the overland map view will be revealed immediately. Note that the revealed area does not correspond to the position of the mouse when clicking; instead it corresponds to the size and shape of the portion of the overland map visible on the screen at the time - a 14x12 tile rectangle. If Earth Lore reveals a town belonging to a rival Wizard with whom contact has not yet been made, Earth Lore does not initiate contact with that Wizard, unlike other land-revealing spells such as Nature Awareness. You may freely choose to target Earth Lore at either Arcanus or Myrror. This is done by clicking the "Plane" button prior to executing the spell in order to select your preferred world. Earth Lore will only reveal the portion of land in the currently-selected Plane, not in both. You would need to cast the spell twice to reveal the same area in both worlds. Since Earth Lore runs its course instantly, and the revealed tiles remain visible without the need for additional magic investment, Earth Lore has no Upkeep Cost. Acquisition As a Common spell, Earth Lore may become available to any Wizard who possesses at least one Spellbook. However, its availability during the game is not guaranteed unless the Wizard acquires at least Spellbooks. Customized Wizards possessing up to Spellbooks at creation time may choose this spell as one of their default spells before starting the game, in which case the spell will already be researched and available for casting immediately on the first turn. Wizards with Spellbooks are guaranteed to have this spell available for casting as soon as the game begins. Wizards with or fewer Spellbooks who have not chosen Earth Lore as a guaranteed spell have a random chance of being able to Research it. The chance for this spell to appear increases with the number of Spellbooks the Wizard possesses or obtains during gameplay. With Spellbooks, the spell is guaranteed to appear for Research if it is not already available for casting. Earth Lore has a base Research Cost of . With at least Spellbook, the Earth Lore spell may be acquired as a reward for winning encounters in creature Lairs, Towers, et cetera, or when conquering the Fortress of a rival wizard who has already researched this spell. Strategy Earth Lore is a cheap and reliable way to perform peaceful exploration. Its primary benefit is that it requires no fragile (or costly) scouts, works instantaneously, and cannot easily be thwarted by rival wizards. Furthermore, Earth Lore does not initiate contact with rival wizards as do scouts or spells like Nature Awareness, thus preventing other wizards from making demands and declaring war too early in the game. Note of course that unlike regular scouting, Earth Lore does not locate enemy units and armies. It is only used to get a good idea of the layout of the land, the location of Terrain Specials and Encounter zones, and to discover enemy Towns. Category:Instant Spells Category:Nature